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Underhill Seedsitters is a terrific partner that has generously provided thousands of native pollinator plants to DMWTD over the last two years. Growing native plants 🌱 from seed is a cost effective way to increase biodiversity, provide nectar and create habitats for our pollinator friends🐝. Native plants are also card carrying members of the “We Hate DSV Fan Club”, and by planting them it helps to control the spread of dog strangling vine and other invasives. So please join Underhill Seedsitters if you have a balcony or backyard to overwinter some native plants. We already know how awesome you are. Take the opportunity to be even awesomer (it’s a word to me). https://underhillseedsitters.blog/2026/01/21/2026-sign-up-is-now-open/ or click the link in our profile. ❤️ DMWTD

We really wish we could do the clean up tomorrow morning. The amount of trash is quite substantial but the heavier than expect snowfall this week has all that trash hidden under the snow ❄️ So the hot chocolate will remain cold and the treats will for now stay ingredients on the shelf (not really) and we will have to wait for another day. Tomorrow's clean up is cancelled - very sorry 😔 We hope to get out soon and often. ❤️ DMWTD

✨ POP UP CLEAN UP ✨ Our first event of 2026 🎉 . With all the snow and rain this winter it has been tough getting out. The streets are, well, hmmm, ahhh, let's say in need of help. There is mess in the Don and it is time to unmess ( Spelling Bee 🐝 and Autocorrect tell me that unmess is not a word but it is now) This Sunday at 9 am we are meeting at the top of the toboggan hill at RIverdale West. Hot Chocolate ☕️ and freshly baked goods 🥖 , the former made by us and the latter not, bags and gloves all provided. We will be going down on to Bayview both sides both northward and southward. There sadly is enough trash for everyone so bring a friend or 5. See you in the Valley! ❤️ DMWTD - A registered Canadian Charity

DMWTD is sad to see 2025 coming to an end. This year meant so much to us. So many new programs like Paddle Camp, Biidaasige Park paddling, more Mountain Biking and twice as much Kayaking. 245 events with approximately 27,000 hours of volunteering and people programming hours. 71 clean ups with nearly 50,000 pounds of trash removed from the Don Valley and Toronto's waterfront. 83 tires pulled out of the river and lake. Ten of thousands of pounds of invasive plants removed and so many native plants put in their place. Art, a trail race, A Lake Story, Greenhouse Project at Downsview Park, the DVP clean up, the King Charles lll Medal for outstanding service to community and so much more. To all the volunteers who gave so much time to help our community, we thank you for your kindness, your grace and your giving of self and soul. Our ravines, forests, meadows and rivers hold our most special places. Wonderful community shared spaces full of friends and peace but also secret special places where we go to reflect, cry, smile and find solace and strength through running, biking, hiking walking our dogs and so many other connections. We are excited for the possibilities that may come in 2026. At our year end celebration, again thank you to the Brick Works (@evergreen_brick_works), we shared a presentation which reflects on the year we had and what is to come in 2026. The public link to that presentation can be found in the link in our profile. DMWTD is a registered charity that serves Toronto, most often but not always, in the Don Valley. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ 📸 12: @spsymes 📸 14: unknown who took this, but thank you! 🚲

A very important part of DMWTD's mission is to break down barriers to participation. Access & Equity are fundamental to our mission. All DMWTD programs are free to everyone all the time. That means access to kayaks, mtn bikes, paddle boards, kids camps, coaching, food at our events, trail races, art and every other program or special event is always free. We get asked all the time - How do you make this happen? Where do you get your funding? DMWTD is a registered charity. DMWTD does not receive any ongoing government funding from any level. DMWTD does not have a fundraising position or work with any fundraising partner. With the exception of our insurance and accounting fees, every penny that is donated to us goes into one of our programs either directly or paying the salary of one 1/2 time position and the very few seasonal employees we hire to help deliver the programs. We write grants (lots of grants). We work with corporate parters on events like stewardship, kayak clean ups, regular clean ups etc and often those partners will help us with funding or in kind donations. DMWTD does not charge for group events. We do receive part of our funding from private/family foundations who believe in the work we do. We receive a small portion of our funding from individual one time or ongoing monthly donations. We wish to thank everyone who gave to us this year and in past years. We really want to thank the many corporate and community partners who have been with us for so very long and we hope we have rewarded your faith with meaningful work. We want to thank the Family/Private Foundations who are local and see first hand the impact our volunteers have in the Don Valley and in the City of Toronto. Thank you so much to all the individual folks who support us with one time and monthly donations. Below is a basic breakdown of our funding sources and amounts for 2025: • Benevity from employee directed donations - $5,790 • Canada Helps donations by the DMWTD Board - $10,400 • Individual Donations to DMWTD - $7,762 • Corporate Donations from events - $57,267 • Grants and Partners - $75,931 • Private/Family Foundations - $22,750 •Other - $12,969 Total Income - $192,869.00

DWMTD had such a joyous and festive afternoon at the Fjallraven (@fjallravenofficial) store on Queen St. W. for our final Art from Invasives workshop. The most fantastic holidays wreaths were crafted from invasive plants such as Buckthorn. A full house full of joy. Every time we do this, and it is 6 and counting this year, the wreaths get more creative and imaginative. 🙏Thank you so much 🙏 to our friends at Fjallraven who have supported DMWTD for so many years with kindness, friendship and gifts of all kinds. We are thrilled to visit them any time we can. Our Art 🎨 program often gets overlooked but it is one of our favourite things to do. We get the nicest people coming out. Next year we look forward to expanding the program in so many ways. New partnerships, more art from invasive plants including ink making, paper making and so much more. We have so many great ideas and people looking to help though we are always looking for creative folks to share their talents. With joy, kindness and holiday spirit we wish everyone a beautiful season. ☃️ ❤️ DMWTD - A registered Canadian Charity All DMWTD programs are free to everyone always. 📸 Photo 10 by Thao N.

The holiday season is upon us and DMWTD will be hosting a very limited opportunity this Saturday at 12 pm for our very popular Art from Invasives program. We have only 15 spots for folks to make amazing Holiday Wreaths from Buckthorn and other invasive plants. We have done this 5 times this year and the results have been amazing. See the photos if you don't believe me. We have found materials like pinecones as well as ribbon, art paper, burlap and other crafty items. Completely free as all DMWTD programs are. Please only register if you are going to use the spot. Please do not let these spots go to waste. We are thrilled to be doing this with our partners at Fjallraven (@fjallravenofficial) at their store at 356 Queen St. W. This the last time we will be doing this until spring next year. Sign up via the link in our profile. Fa la la la la la la lawrence 🧑🏼‍🎄

This past Saturday night at the Brick Works (@evergreen_brick_works) was our bright and shinning 🌟 Year End Celebration 🌟 . Finishing up nearly 8 years of Don't Mess with the Don. 130 old friends, new friends, family, and partners came out to share stories 📚 and celebrate a wonderful year. 2025 was 27,000 hours of volunteering/people programming, 45,000 pounds of trash and over 240 events. Summer Camps, Clean Ups, Stewardship, Art, Kayaking, Trail Running, Paddle Boarding, Mountain Biking, Special Events like the DVP Clean Up - Every single program and event was free. Equipment, food, expertise and space all at no cost. We are asked all the time - Why do you do this? The short answer is this— The thousands of people who volunteer with us each year give so much so others may share in community and activities without barriers. We believe that Everyone means Everyone. We believe that we need to steward our planet but also steward each other. Kindness builds community 🤝, passion brings change and hope comes when we include everyone. We know there are countless people and organizations such as DMWTD who care and take time to grow Milkweed for butterflies 🦋 , bring cleanliness to our shores 🌊 and a offer a kind word to one another. Thank you for 8 years and so many reasons to live a tiny beautiful part of the brilliant and loving story we all share. If you want to help us by volunteering you can contact us via the link in our profile. So many grassroots organizations need your support. Wondrous folks working in small spaces doing amazing work protecting our planet and each other from harm. ❤️ DMWTD - A registered Canadian Charity 📸 1, 4, 10, 13, 14, 16 @dianaroams 📸 12, 20 @heymarkgraham 📸 15, 18, 19 @spsymes

Year End Party - November 29th, 2025

DMWTD is so excited for our upcoming Year End Celebration on November 29th at the Brickworks. As you can imagine there are so many moving pieces and things to do and almost everything is ready. We are looking for help with one very pressing need - A large portable projection screen for the presentation. We are hoping someone out in DMWTD land has access to a large, 12 - 15 foot wide portable projection screen. We can come pick it up and return it if needed. Our other option is to purchase one but we would rather purchase some wonderful native plants or kayak paddles or something spiffy. Please let us know at info@dontmesswiththedon.ca Cheers and many thanks ❤️ DMWTD

💪 8000+ Invasive Buckthorn removed 💪 Toronto Nature Stewards (@torontonaturestewards) and DMWTD have spent the past three years in Sunnybrook Park in partnership to remove invasive Buckthorn that is incredibly damaging to forests in Toronto and throughout much of central and Eastern North America. Buckthorn's impact is environmentally significant. The trees create a monoculture within the forest preventing new growth from native species, interrupting vital forest succession as well as producing vast amounts of berries harmful to birds and animal populations. By hand, TNS and DWMTD have extracted over 8000 trees. Pulling roots and all with extractigators. This is incredibly hard but important work to restore forest and ecosystem health. Look at the photo attached, this is hard. We also wish to thank the City of Toronto's Urban Forestry for their support and congratulate them on their work nearby with Buckthorn. Thank you to the people with the muddy knees, with the sweat on their brows, who have sore arms and good will and are helping to save our wild spaces. ❤️ DMWTD and TNS 📸 Photo # 3 taken by @catherineberka21

☃️ Snow Falls on Sun Valley ☃️ Beautiful Downy Hawthorns are frosted by the first snow. A few precious berries remain as food for wintering brrrds. Sun Valley and the Don are remarkable in any season and so are our stewards. Planting in the spring of native plants like Cone Flower and other essential pollinator delights, pulling and removing of invasive species like DSV in the summer and adding to the valley with fall planting. All wonderfully done by stewards who give so much. Winter is also a season for stewardship. A perfect time to remove Buckthorn and other invasive species. Come on out for hot chocolate and butter tarts, stay for the Buckthorn and Locust removal. You can't lose. Wednesdays at 4 pm at our Container Hub at the Loblaws Trailhead. 11 Redway Road. We have everything you need for true fun in the snow. ❤️ DMWTD - A registered Canadian Charity #amazingvolunteers #amazingcoldvolunteers #cricketeatssnow #dontmesswiththedon #donvalley #nature #natureinthecity #naturelover #stewardshipwednesdays #toronto #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto

Dirty Little Secret Photos Part 2 - Electric Runaloo 🏃 #dirtylittlesecret #donvalley #dontmesswiththedon #patagonia #runningtheravines #salomon #salomonrunning #salomontoronto #sapsucker #trailrunning

What's the Dirty Little Secret? Well it's no secret that the Don Valley single track is the perfect place for trail running in Toronto. It is also no secret the running community in the Don is vibrant and inclusive. 30 volunteers helped nearly 100 runners race through the brilliant colours of the woods in the fall on a cool crisp sunny morning. 7k of reds, oranges and yellows. Thank you runners for a great day. Thank you volunteers for marshalling, timing, registering, BBQing, and making the Dirty Little Secret possible. Year 3 of DLS is in the books and we had too much fun. Thank you to our sponsors - Patagonia, Salomon and Sapsucker. Again a massive thank you to all the folks who came out on Wednesday and build the new trail connection without which this race would not have been possible. If this connection stays open and the Flats remain passable, it makes things so much better for everyone. UP NEXT WITH DMWTD We have a couple clean ups on the trails coming up in the next few weeks. Stay tuned here for details. Stewardship every Wednesday. Our annual year end celebration is on November 29th at the Brickworks and invitations go out tomorrow. ❤️ DMWTD - A registered Canadian Charity #dirtylittlesecret #donvalley #dontmesswiththedon #patagonia #runningtheravines #salomon #salomonrunning #sapsucker #trailrunning

Dirty Little Secret Trail Race - November 1st, 2025 #dirtylittlesecret #donvalley #dontmesswiththedon #patagonia #runningtheravines #salomon #salomonrunning #salomontoronto #sapsucker #trailrunning

Nearly 8 years ago three trail runners founded DMWTD because they wanted to make a difference in the valley they loved so much. These three runners also loved the community of Mtn Bikers, Hikers, Dog Walkers and all those who know how lucky we all are to have this space of adventure and communion. Wednesday night 25 of these brilliant and passionate folks came out to build a trail. A trail to connect the severed parts of the valley. By hand the trail was formed and completed. Connections built and restored, relationships strengthened and new ones formed. We love the river, the trees, the dragonflies, the trails and all the wild and tiny spaces that are so precious to so many. We believe that people are generous, kind and dedicated to the valley, the planet and each other. To all who came out Wednesday night and got muddy, got wet and got involved, thank you from everyone at DMWTD. P.S. We owe you Pizza 🍕

DMWTD has a Dirty Little Secret and we are pretty excited. This Saturday, November 1st, our 3rd annual Dirty Little Secret 7k trail race is being shared with 125 trail runners, 30 volunteers, and our friends and families. We have amazing prizes from Patagonia (@patagoniatoronto) and Salomon (@salomonrunning). We have the after race BBQ with refreshments from Sapsucker (@sipsapsucker) & more. The woods and trails are in prime fall colours and DMWTD is getting the trails ready. The race is full but there is a waitlist which we will activate tomorrow. We anticipate a few spots will be available. To join the waitlist please email us at info@dontmesswiththedon.ca. If you are unable to make the race and are already registered then please email us today so we can free up those spots. The shirts are out for viewing (see photos) and if you haven't sent in your donation for your shirt, please do (or if you would just like to donate, that's cool too). $20 helps us cover the cost of the shirt. Link for donations found in our profile. Race starts at 10 am sharp, bib and shirt pick up opens at 9:15. Race starts at the Loblaws trailhead, 11 Redway Road. All DMWTD programs and events are free all the time to everyone. ❤️ #dirtylittlesecret #donvalley #dontmesswiththedon #patagonia #patagoniatoronto #runningtheravines #salomon #salomonrunning #salomontoronto #sapsucker #trailrunning

Pancakes 🥞 , Pumpkins 🎃 and People 🦹‍♀️ . A little bit a spice, a little bit of scary 👻 and some of our best friends 🫂 . DWMTD loves doing our annual pumpkin carving with our Saturdays at the Container program. The kids mixed some cinnamon 🤏 into the flapjacks while we sliced apples 🍎 for the top. Some awesome pumpkin 🎃 art and imagination today made for a great community gathering. Thank you to everyone who made our Hallowe'en 👻 special and all the kids who made us smile 😊 . DMWTD has a few events coming up including next Saturday's Dirty Little Secret 🤫 Trail Race (waitlist only). We will be running off all the candy 🍬 and pancakes 🥞 . Coming up after that we have a couple clean ups 🧹 (TBA) and we will be doing holiday wreaths from invasives with Fjallraven closer to the holidays. Watch for that one, it fills really fast. ❤️ DMWTD - A registered Canadian Charity #autumnaesthetic #communityengagement #cricketlikespancakesnotpumpkins #dontmesswiththedon #pancakebreakfast #pumpkincarving #saturdaysatthecontainer

Trail building time - We need help - like a lot of help! Our Dirty Little Secret trail race is coming up on November Ist and we have a trail problem. A certain construction project has blocked the trail system and we are going to build around it. We have a solution that hopefully will reconnect the flats for at least this fall. It could get a little muddy so please wear boots 🥾 though we have dozens of pairs of rubber boots available to borrow. We have shovels 🪏 and other tools but we need a bunch of help. We are meeting at our container hub at the Loblaws Trailhead at 11 Redway Rd. at 4 pm on Thursday Oct 30th and then heading down to the river 🌊 🐟 . We will aim to order pizza 🍕 for after as a thank you. You can add your name to the list in the link in our profile. This could get interesting. ❤️ DMWTD

Procter & Gamble x Don't Mess with the Don - October 23, 2025 - Stewardship #amazingvolunteers #dontmesswiththedon #donvalley #nature #natureinthecity #naturelover #pggivesback #stewardship #toronto #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto